1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to virtual tape libraries.
2. Background Art
Disaster recovery procedures for data storage applications require periodic testing to determine their effectiveness. When real tape libraries and real tapes are used, testing the disaster recovery procedures requires either that an additional set of tapes be created specifically for use in the testing or that the actual disaster recovery tapes are removed from their normal location for use in the testing.
Disaster recovery tapes are frequently created for a data storage enterprise. The disaster recovery tapes are used to recover the enterprise if a disaster occurs. The disaster recovery tapes are typically moved to an offsite location, either physically or electronically. The offsite location may be a recovery location equipped with servers and other infrastructure required to recover the enterprise using the disaster recovery tapes. Alternatively, the offsite location may be a safe storage location and the disaster recovery tapes are moved from the safe storage location to a recovery location during testing or during an actual recovery.
In some cases, as noted above, the disaster recovery tapes that are to be used in an actual disaster recovery are also used in the disaster recovery testing. In this approach, the disaster recovery tapes are removed from their normal locations and procedures for use in the disaster recovery testing. However, this places any potential disaster recovery at risk if a disaster should occur during the disaster recovery testing.
An alternative, as noted above, is to create an additional set of tapes to be used specifically for disaster recovery testing. However, this requires that an additional set of tapes be available for use in the disaster recovery testing and that machine and personnel resources are used to create the extra copy. Batch and backup windows may restrict the time available to create the extra copy.